Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64B—LIGHTER-THAN AIR AIRCRAFT
  • B64B1/00—Lighter-than-air aircraft
  • B64B1/40—Balloons
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64D—EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
  • B64D1/00—Dropping, ejecting, releasing, or receiving articles, liquids, or the like, in flight
  • B64D1/02—Dropping, ejecting, or releasing articles
  • B64D1/08—Dropping, ejecting, or releasing articles the articles being load-carrying devices
  • B64D1/12—Releasing
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64D—EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
  • B64D17/00—Parachutes
  • B64D17/62—Deployment
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64D—EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
  • B64D17/00—Parachutes
  • B64D17/62—Deployment
  • B64D17/64—Deployment by extractor parachute
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64D—EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
  • B64D17/00—Parachutes
  • B64D17/80—Parachutes in association with aircraft, e.g. for braking thereof

Definitions

• the present embodiments include a method of deploying a parachute system on a balloon system including the steps of (i) providing a balloon system including a balloon envelope, a payload secured to the balloon envelope, a first parachute positioned within a parachute container, the parachute container secured to the payload, a first bridle line having a first end secured to the balloon system and a second end secured to the parachute container, the first bridle line having a length that is 5-20 times the distance between an apex of the balloon envelope and a bottom of the payload; (ii) receiving a signal to deploy the parachute container; and (iii) releasing the parachute container downwardly from the payload at an angle of 0-90 degrees from vertical.
• Figure 5 A illustrates the very long length of bridle Sine 520 extending between payload 506 and main parachute 530.
• the balloon payload may be brought down to provide necessary upgrades to the electronic equipment within the payload, to recover and refurbish the electronic equipment for use on later flights, or unexpected events like a balloon leak.
• the pilot parachute with the mam parachute and parachute container suspended below is lifted up, around, and above the envelope/payload system and eventually the balloon/payload system will exert a force on the pilot parachute such that the mam parachute (attached to the pilot chute by the second bridle line) is pulled from, the parachute container, which will be clear of the balloon envelope and reduce the possibility of tangling between the main parachute and balloon envelope or other parts of the parachute system.
• the main parachute will provide a controlled descent of the balloon/payload system.
• the super-node balloons may be configured to communicate with nearby super-node balloons via free-space optical links.
• the sub-node balloons may not be configured for free-space optical communication, and may instead be configured for some other type of communication, such as RF communications.
• a super-node may be further configured to communicate with sub-nodes using RF communications.
• the sub-nodes may relay communications between the super-nodes and one or more ground-based stations using RF communications.
• the super- nodes may collectively function as backhaul for the balloon network, while the sub-nodes function to relay communications from the super-nodes to ground-based stations.
• balloon 102F is configured as a downlink balloon.
• a downlink balloon 102F may be operable for optical communication with other balloons via optical links 104.
• a downlink balloon 102F may also be configured for free-space optical communication with a ground-based station 112 via an optical link 110.
• Optical link 110 may therefore serve as a high-capacity link (as compared to an RF link 108) between the balloon network 100 and the ground-based station 112.
• a downlink balloon 102F may additionally be operable for RF communication with ground-based stations 106. In other cases, a downlink balloon 102F may only use an optical link for balloon-to-ground communications. Further, while the arrangement shown in Figure 1 includes just one downlink balloon 102F, an example balloon network can also include multiple downlink balloons. On the other hand, a balloon network can also be implemented without any downlink balloons.
• Ground-based stations such as ground-based stations 106 and/or 112 may take various forms.
• a ground-based station may include components such as transceivers, transmitters, and/or receivers for communication via RF links and/or optical links with a balloon network.
• a ground-based station may use various air-interface protocols in order to communicate with a balloon 102A to 102F over an RF imk 108.
• ground-based stations 106 and 112 may be configured as an access point via which various devices can connect to balloon network 100.
• Ground-based stations 106 and 112 may have other configurations and/or serve other purposes without departing from the scope of the invention.
• balloons 102A to 102F could be configured to establish a communication link with space-based satellites in addition to, or as an alternative to, a ground-based communication link.
• a balloon may communicate with a satellite via an optical link.
• other types of satellite communications are possible.
• control -system arrangements are also possible.
• some implementations may involve a centralized control system with additional layers (e.g., sub-region systems within the regional control systems, and so on).
• control functions may be provided by a single, centralized, control system, winch communicates directly with one or more downlink balloons.
• control and coordination of a balloon network may be shared by a ground-based control system and a balloon network to var ing degrees, depending upon the implementation. In fact, in some embodiments, there may be no ground- based control systems. In such an embodiment, all network control and coordination functions may be implemented by the balloon network itself. For example, certain balloons may be configured to provide the same or similar functions as central control system 200 and/or regional control systems 202A to 202C. Other examples are also possible.
• control of a balloon network may be partially or entirely localized, such that it is not dependent on the overall state of the network.
• individual balloons may implement station-keeping functions that only consider nearby balloons.
• each balloon may implement an energy function that takes into account its own state and the states of nearby balloons. The energy function may be used to maintain and/or move to a desired position with respect to the nearby balloons, without necessarily considering the desired topology of the network as a whole.
• the balloon network as a whole may maintain and/or move towards the desired topology.
• control systems such as those described above may determine when and/or where individual balloons should be taken down. Additionally, the control systems may navigate the balloons to locations where they are to be taken down. The control systems may also cause the balloons to be taken down, and may control their descent and/or otherwise facilitate their descent.
• FIG. 3 shows a high-altitude balloon 300, according to an example embodiment.
• the balloon 300 includes an envelope 302, a skirt 304, a payload 306, and a cut-down device 308, which is attached between the balloon 302 and payload 306.
• balloon 300 includes an ultra-bright LED system 320 for free-space optical communication with other balloons.
• optical communication system 316 may be configured to transmit a free-space optical signal by modulating the ultra-bright LED system 320.
• the optical communication system 316 may be implemented with mechanical systems and/or with hardware, firmware, and/or software. Generally, the manner in which an optical communication system is implemented may vary, depending upon the particular application. The optical communication system 316 and other associated components are described in further detail below.
• balloon 300 may include release valves or other features that are controllable to allow gas to escape from bladder 310.
• Multiple bladders 310 could be implemented within the scope of this disclosure. For instance, multiple bladders could be used to improve balloon stability.
• the envelope 302 could be filled with helium, hydrogen or other lighter-than-air material.
• the envelope 302 could thus have an associated up ard buoyancy force.
• air in the bladder 310 could be considered a ballast tank that may have an associated downward ballast force.
• the amount of air in the bladder 310 could be changed by pumping air (e.g., with an air compressor) into and out of the bladder 310. By adjusting the amount of air in the bladder 310, the ballast force may be controlled.
• the ballast force may ⁇ be used, in part, to counteract the buoyancy force and/or to provide altitude stability.
• the envelope 302 could be substantially rigid and include an enclosed volume. Air could be evacuated from envelope 302 while the enclosed volume is substantially maintained. In other words, at least a partial vacuum could be created and maintained within the enclosed volume. Thus, the envelope 302 and the enclosed volume could become lighter-than-air and provide a buoyancy force. In yet other embodiments, air or another material could be controllably introduced into the partial vacuum of the enclosed volume in an effort to adjust the overall buoyancy force and/or to provide altitude control.
• a portion of the envelope 302 could be a first colo (e.g., black) and/or a first material from the rest of envelope 302, which may have a second color (e.g., white) and/or a second material.
• the first color and/or first material could be configured to absorb a relatively larger amount of solar energy than the second color and/or second material .
• the balloon 300 also includes a cut-down device 308.
• the cut-down device 308 may be activated to separate the payload 306 from the rest of balloon 300.
• the cut-down device 308 could include at least a connector, such as a balloon cord, connecting the payload 306 to the envelope 302 and a means for severing the connector (e.g., a shearing mechanism or an explosive bolt).
• the balloon cord which may be nylon, is wrapped with a ni chrome wire. A current could be passed through the nichrome wire to heat it and melt the cord, cutting the payload 306 away from the envelope 302.
• the cut-down functionality may be utilized anytime the payload needs to be accessed on the ground, such as when it is time to remove balloon 300 from a balloon network, when maintenance is due on systems within payload 306, and/or when power supply 326 needs to be recharged or replaced.
• the cut- down device 308 may be used in conjunction with a parachute system. However, it should be understood that a cut-down device 308 is optional.
• a parachute container containing the primary parachute and the bridle line may advantageously be launched downwardly (e.g., at an angle of 0-45, 0-60, or 0-90 degrees from vertical) from the payload to allow the parachute to be far from the balloon envelope upon deployment.
• the parachute system may be secured to the payload, ideally on the bottom, of the payload, and rather than being launched, the parachute system may simply be dropped from the payload, by releasing the holding strap(s).
• a variety of release mechanism may be used to release a line or strap securing the parachute container 508, and launch (or drop) the parachute container.
• the release mechanism may include a squib, an explosive bolt, or a shearing mechanism, as examples.
• the release mechanism may include a nichrome wire wrapped around the strap or line. The nichrome wire may be configured to receive a current and generate heat, thereby melting the strap or line.
• Other release mechanisms are possible as well.
• an actuated trigger mechanism having opposed pivotable jaws could be used to hold the strap in place. Upon activation, the jaws could be opened, thereby releasing the securing strap.
• Other devices such as a linear actuator, or rotary actuator could also be used to releasably secure the parachute container prior to launch or drop.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Toys (AREA)

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Publications (1)

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Citations (5)

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• 2015
  • 2015-03-23 US US14/665,653 patent/US9604726B2/en active Active
• 2016
  • 2016-02-26 CN CN201680018218.7A patent/CN107406135B/zh active Active
  • 2016-02-26 BR BR112017020228A patent/BR112017020228A2/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2016-02-26 WO PCT/US2016/019731 patent/WO2016153720A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (5)

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